Forcing Method and Time of Rootstock Shoot Removal Affect Growth of Containerized Citrus Nursery Trees

Abstract

I conducted an experiment to determine the effects of time of rootstock shoot removal on growth of citrus nursery plants forced by bending and lopping. `Hamlin' orange [Citrus sinensis (L.) Osb.] budded on Carrizo citrange [C. sinensis (L.) × Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.] and Cleopatra mandarin (C. reticulata Blanco) seedlings were grown in 2.8-L plastic pots and forced by bending or lopping the rootstock shoots. For Carrizo plants, rootstock shoots were removed 0, 21, 36, 170, or 235 days after forcing. For Cleopatra plants, rootstock shoots were removed 0, 11, 21, 36, 170, and 235 days after forcing. Bending and lopping with rootstock shoots remaining attached for 36 days after forcing resulted in greater nursery tree growth (scion, root, and wholeplant dry masses; scion length; and leaf area) than when rootstock shoots were removed the day of forcing. Growth of scion leaves (both rootstocks) and stems (Cleopatra) was greatest at a rootstock shoot removal time (RSRT) of 36 days after forcing. However, root and whole plant dry masses increased as RSRT increased up to 235 days after forcing. These results suggest that roots continue to be a major sink for rootstock photosynthates of bent or lopped plants during periods after the first scion growth flush. Proportionally greater root growth occurred on plants forced by bending or lopping when rootstock shoots were left attached for more than the usual 4 to 5 weeks after forcing.